On behalf of his client Taylor Rodrigues, attorney Lance Rogers has filed an appeal to the Hollister City Council requesting the disqualification of Layla’s Landing, Inc. and Monterey Bay Alternative Medicine, for having incomplete Dispensary applications.
Mr. Rogers delivered a letter to Hollister City Manager Bill Avera warning that the city must abide by their own statutes when awarding medical cannabis dispensary permits, which includes an indisputable requirement that incomplete applications must be disqualified.
According to the letter from Rogers, City of Hollister officials have “capriciously diverged from procedures in multiple ways,” including scoring irregularities, acceptance of incomplete applications, and the failure to perform criminal background checks before making recommendations to the City Council.
Taylor Rodrigues, a 1st generation Latino college graduate who received his business degree from Cal State Monterey Bay, returned home to Hollister after college to open Haven Dispensary. Rodrigues says he is baffled that city officials would proceed in this manner.
“For me, win or lose, the best applicants should be chosen. But I want a fair fight, not a rigged game,” said Rodrigues. “If the scoring were done as the law requires, I would be tied for first.”
The Hollister City Council had previously voted to award only two dispensaries within city limits. The Council recently approved only one dispensary, Purple Cross Rx but deadlocked 2-1 on approving a second dispensary. Two City Council members have recused themselves from voting on the dispensary issue. With only 3 members voting, a unanimous 3-0 vote is required.
The City Attorney, an independent contractor attorney with L+G law firm, has also recused himself. At the August 14th Council meeting, Mayor Velazquez directly questioned dispensary applicants about their legal representation. The meeting video shows Higher Level of Care and Monterey Bay Alternative Medicine stating that the L+G law firm represents them. Despite the City Attorney’s public recusal, he has continued to provide legal advice to Council Members, including advising them on their recusals.
Rodrigues said, “The City Attorney should avoid all appearance of impropriety. Does the recusal advice help applicants who have publicly acknowledged representation by L+G? Why haven’t incomplete applications been disqualified?”
There had previously been public outcry over L+G representing both cannabis clients and the City of Hollister, resulting in Hollister temporarily bringing in independent outside council.
The city has no limit on the number of other commercial cannabis businesses allowed and has approved several cultivation and manufacturing sites so far.
California voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996 and legalized adult cannabis in November of last year. Hollister voters also approved both measures.
The Council is scheduled to discuss the matter of Mr. Rodrigues’s appeal on October 2nd.